Jewelry has always been considered an important element of a well-dressed individual, reflecting the personalities and taste of the wearer. Beaded jewelry started in ancient times as a craft using a series of artistic stones or metal pieces placed end-to-end on a string in various formations. Today, we have factories that arrange beads on various stringing materials to form bracelets, necklaces, watch bands, ankle bracelets, belts, handbag straps, waist jewelry or the like.
Stringing materials used today are predominately string, wire or chord. The type of material, size, weight and quality of the jewelry article usually determines the stringing mechanism, be it wire, chord, string that is selected by the designers.
Bead wire, made exclusively for the jewelry trade, comes in many diameters, is usually made of stainless steel wires woven together and then coated. It is typically strong, light and allows for a supple drape.
Beadwork assemblies are typically connected to a clasp, chain, or cable using string or wire.
String beadwork typically is finished by knotting the string and placing the end knot into some type of bead where the final bead or a metal finding holds and conceals the final knot.
Wire is preferred by designers when the application requires heavy beads and where the bead hole is abrasive. Abrasive bead holes can act like razors on a string or chord. The allure of stringing many different beads or stones and creating limitless design possibilities without having to worry about abrasive beads, makes using the bead wire versus string very attractive for jewelry assemblies by designers.
String beadwork is feasible due to the ability to knot a string. This remedy is not feasible for designs that use a wire for beadwork. Tying a knot in the bead wire weakens the wire. Consequently, wires are typically finished with metal findings, called crimps.
Crimps are small tubes of metal that are crushed with pliers or a specific crimping tool to hold wires together. Crimps fasten the wire to itself to form a loop that attaches to the clasp, chain or cable assemblies. This is accomplished by threading the wire through the crimp tube around a clasp or other article, and then back through the crimp tube. To close the loop, the crimp is then crushed with a crimp pliers or a needle nose pliers to hold the wire securely. Crimps of varying sizes are used depending on the size of the wire, the weight and size of the beads.
Additional problems with using bead wire are that a metal finding, such as a crimp, is exposed and raw beading wire is exposed. Metal findings are typically not very strong and often times will break causing the loss of the jewelry.
Metal findings become a piece of hardware as opposed to an element of design and are typically not found in high-priced jewelry since this would be considered not appealing by those that appreciate the art, since aesthetics are important factors in the value of the jewelry. One of the primary problems in trying to attach a bead wire to either a clasp, chain or cable is how to attach the wire without detracting from the overall appearance of the jewelry article.
Some jewelry designers use what is called French wire or bullion to cover over the raw bead wire which creates the loop. French wire is a spring-like coil of silver tint that is cut to length and placed over the exposed portion of the beading wire. French wire is a temporary solution, at best, as it soon frays and discolors and detracts from the overall appearance of the article of jewelry. The value of the pieces of jewelry often depends largely upon how the piece is put together.
While many of the prior connector elements may be suitable for low-end jewelry, they are not desirable solutions for high-end jewelry. How it is put together is an important factor for success in the high-end jewelry market.
Although the relevant body of art discloses devices for use with an article of jewelry, most all are directed towards either connecting to chain, cable or an improved clasp. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,919 refers to connecting to chain, U.S Pat. No. 6,681,598 refers to connecting beads that are wired from eyelet to eyelet and are not a continuous wire strand. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,559 is a clasp appended to a knotted pearl necklace. U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,884, is still another clasp designed to be soldered to a chain. In most instances, particularly with the foregoing, the strand ends in prior art have loops that are either glued into the last bead for engagement to a clasp, or soldered to the end of a chain, or glued to a cord. None of the prior art addresses how to attach a bead wire to a clasp, chain, cable or the like and overcome the exposed metal findings and/or the exposed wire that detracts from the appearance of the article of jewelry. U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,391 refers to connecting a bead wire to a clasp. This patent eliminates the unsightly crimp, but does not eliminate the exposed raw bead wire that detracts from the appearance of the article of jewelry. None of the prior art addresses how to attach a bead wire to a clasp, chain, cable or the like without detracting from the appearance of the article of jewelry.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved jewelry system, which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides a significant contribution to the jewelry industry.
It is an object of this invention to provide a jewelry system suitable for higher-end jewelry.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a jewelry system with a connector which is easily installed on the ends of the bead portions and linkable components.
Another object is to provide a connector device for a jewelry system that minimizes the need for a high level of manual dexterity in assembly.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a jewelry connector for a jewelry system that may incorporate a variety of styles, shapes, designs, decorative features. The shape of the connector may be of any jewelry type shape including cubical, spherical, cylindrical and other geometric shapes.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a connector for a jewelry system that can be sized to allow for different amounts of holding power.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device that is easily manufactured and simple to use.
These and other objects of the invention are provided by a jewelry system in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.